The sky was gradually darkening. Many people had already closed their eyes and leaned back to rest, so the slight disturbance here didn’t attract anyone else’s attention.
Only Zhu Xiuyun was awakened by the sound. When she saw the man’s back as he climbed out of the window, she instinctively touched her clothing pocket, and her expression instantly turned frantic.
“Ah! My money is gone! My hundred yuan!”
Thinking of the man who had just jumped off the train, Zhu Xiuyun immediately realized what had happened.
“There’s a thief! Somebody catch the thief!”
She put down the child in her arms, climbed onto the table, and was about to jump out the window after him.
“Are you crazy? The train is still moving.”
Qian Xing grabbed her by the hem of her clothes and refused to let go.
Although this train wasn’t moving very fast and jumping off probably wouldn’t be fatal, someone without any training would still get injured. More importantly, the woman’s child was still on the train.
Jumping off was easy enough, but getting back on would be another matter entirely.
Zhu Xiuyun froze for a moment, then her lips trembled as she burst into tears.
“What am I supposed to do? Sob, my money! All my savings are in there! That damned thief! Sob, sob…”
Beside her, the child silently watched his crying mother without saying a word.
Qian Xing frowned. She stood up and found the woman selling boxed meals, then told her what had just happened.
“And there’s something else. I think there’s something wrong with that man’s child—”
“Human trafficker!”
Immersed in her grief, Zhu Xiuyun suddenly raised her head and shouted.
“He must be a human trafficker!”
“Comrade, hurry and catch him! I thought something was wrong just now. Who wraps a child up that tightly?”
A human trafficker on a train was no small matter.
The conductor immediately ran off to report it.
Qian Xing remained where she was, deep in thought.
Before long, a man in military uniform came running over.
“Who saw the human trafficker?”
Zhu Xiuyun hurriedly said, “I did! She saw him too!”
She pointed at Qian Xing.
“That man wanted to switch seats with us as soon as he sat down. So that’s why he was looking for a chance to escape! Oh, right, he also stole my hundred yuan. I had it wrapped in a handkerchief. Comrade, you have to help me get it back!”
While she was speaking, the conductor from earlier also returned, panting heavily.
“I’ve already reported it to the train supervisor. The train will stop for a while. Comrade, are you really going to chase him?”
The soldier nodded.
“A child being trafficked is no small matter.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the train came to a stop.
The carriage door opened, and the soldier immediately rushed out.
“What a selfless soldier, willing to sacrifice himself for others. And he’s even on leave visiting his family…”
The conductor had just finished praising him when a figure suddenly flashed past her and swiftly jumped off the train.
What…?
That passenger wasn’t even a soldier. Why was she getting off?!
The conductor tried to chase after her, but the woman who had gotten off the train ran incredibly fast. Before long, she had disappeared into the mountain forest.
The woman who had gotten off was none other than Qian Xing.
She had suddenly figured something out and had to tell that soldier, lest he accidentally lose his life.
No matter what era it was, soldiers who protected ordinary people were always worthy of respect.
However, the person ahead of her had clearly undergone training. He ran incredibly fast, and before long, Qian Xing completely lost sight of him.
The sky grew darker and darker.
After thinking it over, Qian Xing decided to return to the train first.
But when she retraced her steps and looked around, her eyes widened.
There wasn’t even a trace of the train near the barren mountains. Not even its tail could be seen.
Clearly, it had already left some time ago.
Qian Xing stood there thinking for a while before finally deciding to enter the mountains.
She had traveled all over the country with her master since childhood, and spending the night in the mountains was nothing unusual for her.
If she was lucky, she might even run into the soldier who had just entered the mountains.
She could also gather some medicinal herbs along the way.
Qian Xing had always been optimistic. Before long, she was humming a tune as she walked up the mountain path.
The forest was dry and dense, making it unsuitable to walk around holding a torch. Qian Xing could only rely on the moonlight to find her way.
……
On the mountain ridge next door.
Li Zhongyi was roasting himself by the fire while gnawing on a chicken leg and sighing.
The person beside him teased him.
“What? You completed the mission and you’re still sighing? Don’t you want to go back and get some proper sleep and a good meal?”
Li Zhongyi rolled his eyes at him.
“What the hell do you know? Of course completing the mission is a good thing, but my mother is definitely going to call again!”
As he spoke, he glanced at the silent man sitting opposite him and cautiously asked,
“Battalion Commander, are you really not planning to find us a sister-in-law? Is it… some kind of problem?”
That can’t be.
Just look at those broad shoulders and all those muscles. Could he really have a problem?
Huo Yuan raised his eyes and calmly said,
“Is your skin itching again?”
Li Zhongyi’s body trembled.
“I was wrong, Battalion Commander!”
“Hahahaha! Li Zhongyi, you really are asking for it.”
The person beside him burst out laughing.
“I can’t help it! My mother keeps nagging me every day! Of course, I know my younger sister probably isn’t worthy of our battalion commander, but she just refuses to give up! She heard you’re still unmarried and absolutely refuses to consider anyone else.”
Li Zhongyi cautiously looked at their battalion commander.
“How about you two meet next time?”
Maybe you’ll hit it off at first sight.
“No need.”
Huo Yuan had never considered marriage. Things were perfectly fine as they were.
As for the phone call from half a month ago informing him that he was “getting married,” he hadn’t taken it seriously at all.
From the moment he joined the military, he had never intended to go back and get entangled with those people again.
“Battalion Commander, think about it some more. Being single forever isn’t exactly a good thing. Coming home to a cold stove and a cold bed, without someone at home who truly cares about you, just isn’t—”
“Shut up. Stay alert. Someone’s approaching.”
Huo Yuan focused his attention and drew his gun, aiming it at the swaying bushes in the distance.
“Who is it? Come out!”
With his shout, the other three men behind him also drew their guns and began watching their surroundings.
Before long, a man emerged from behind a tree with both hands raised, speaking nervously.
“Don’t, don’t! Don’t shoot! Don’t hit the child!”
Behind him, a child who was only as tall as the man’s thigh clung to his leg, trembling in fear.
“It’s so late. Why are you here?”
Huo Yuan continued pointing his gun at them as he questioned him.
The man trembled.
“M-my son is sick, and we don’t have any money at home, so… so I rode the train without a ticket. Then we happened to run into a ticket inspection… I-I had no choice but to carry my son and jump off the train. We just wanted to find somewhere to hide in the mountains.”
“I beg you, I really don’t have any money left…”
After choking out those words, the man bent down to pick up his child and hurriedly said,
“We’ll leave right away. We absolutely won’t disturb you!”
“Hey, wait. You’ve misunderstood, old fellow.”
Li Zhongyi lowered his gun and spoke gently.
“We’re not bad people. We’re soldiers.”
The four of them were all wearing civilian clothes, and none of them had anything on them that could prove their identities, so the man was still somewhat hesitant.
“Really? Then why are you out here in the middle of the night? And in weather this cold?”
“We’re carrying out a mission. Anyway, don’t be afraid. Oh, look at your child. He’s shivering from the cold. Come over and warm yourselves by the fire.”
Li Zhongyi enthusiastically invited them over.
The father and son finally decided to trust them and slowly walked toward them.
Just as the distance between the two sides had narrowed to three meters, an anxious voice suddenly came from behind them.
“Don’t believe him! He’s a human trafficker!”
Huo Yuan’s expression hardened.
He immediately raised his gun.
“Stop!”